Histopathological analysis of Artemia franciscana nauplii under different forms of mercury stress

• Published in: Journal of histotechnology pp. 1 - 13
• Main Authors: Wei, Yanlin, Liu, Wei, Zhang, Fengling, Chen, Yang, Wei, Dongxin, Lin, Hangyu, He, Tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 02.07.2025
• Subjects: Histopathology; Artemia franciscana nauplii; Mercury; Methylmercury
• ISSN: 0147-8885; 2046-0236
• DOI: 10.1080/01478885.2025.2523622

Inorganic mercury (Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) have emerged as global pollutants owing to their long-term environmental stability and bioaccumulation. These heavy metals enter aquatic systems via industrial emissions, coal combustion, and natural processes, posing a serious threat to ecosystems and human health. This study assesses the impact of Hg and MeHg on the growth and development of brine shrimp ( ) nauplii by analyzing the histopathological effects on their tissues. Brine shrimp nauplii from the Bohai Bay in China were selected as the study subjects and exposed to 1 μmol/L solutions of HgCl₂ and MeHgCl. Tissue sections were continuously taken at different immersion times. After staining with the standard hematoxylin-eosin (HE) method, the tissue morphology of brine shrimp nauplii under different forms of Hg stress was observed under a light microscope. The results showed that MeHg exhibited significantly greater toxicity to brine shrimp nauplii than Hg . Under the same exposure time, the MeHg group exhibited more pronounced epithelial cell damage, nuclear material disorder, and nucleoplasm diffusion outside the nucleus than the HgCl₂ group. This finding provides an important theoretical support for further research into the toxicological mechanisms of MeHg and Hg , and highlights that the toxic effects of methylmercury on aquatic organisms.